The optical industry gathered online on October 4 for the sector’s inaugural Social, Ethical and Environmental (See) Summit. Hosted by the Association of British Dispensing Opticians (ABDO) and supported by the General Optical Council (GOC), the Optical Suppliers Association (OSA), the Association of Optometrists (AOP) and the College of Optometrists among others, the event comprised a webinar that saw a selection of speakers from within and outside the industry update and engage with attendees on the pressing need to make sustainable change.
ABDO vice president, Jo Holmes, opened the event by welcoming delegates. She explained that the entire optical sector had wanted to raise awareness of environmental sustainability and contribute to the government’s goals on climate change. ‘Sustainability means meeting our needs without compromising the need of future generations to meet theirs,’ she said.
Holmes set the tone for the night by focusing on the need to make small but concrete steps towards sustainability before considering wholesale changes: ‘Like me, you may have found the journey towards sustainability daunting. One tip to build momentum might be to look for simple gains, like making a switch to an environmental energy provider.’
Setting the stakes
The event’s first speaker was Nick Bridge, the UK’s special representative for climate change. Bridge took time out of his schedule preparing the UK’s mission to the Conference of Parties 26 (COP26), the upcoming climate change conference in Glasgow that will be attended by world leaders, to give an update to the See Summit on the importance of making a shift towards more sustainable practices.
Bridge’s assessment of the dangers of climate change were significant. He said: ‘I get to see the increasingly shocking climate projections as part of my work, and they are very sobering. It’s without a doubt that our civilisation, as we know it, is at risk if we don’t make changes.’
Bridge then explained that the UK had committed to stop emitting greenhouse gasses by 2050, and hoped to convince other countries to commit to the same goal at COP26. ‘The big challenge we have,’ he said, ‘is the countries that are developing now haven’t made changes to their emissions as they develop because they’re worried about the impact of this on their economies.’
The solution to the challenge of concerns about the economic impact of sustainability was to make sustainable practices more affordable, explained Bridge. This was already the case in some ways, he said: ‘Cleaner, more sustainable practices are cheaper ones, and renewable energy is now cheaper than fossil fuels.’
‘However,’ he added, ‘the cost of not making this change is unquantifiable. We’ve got to work out how to make the transition together quickly enough.’
Bridge finished by explaining that the UK could only make sound arguments for sustainability across the globe if it had its own house in check: ‘The UK’s diplomacy is only as good as its work at home, so let’s all work together to be more sustainable.’
CL recycling research
After Bridge set out the necessity of moving towards more sustainable business and lifestyle practices there were a series of presentations from those within the optical sector on how practitioners and others in the industry could become more sustainable.
Sarah Smith, an optometrist and researcher at the University of Manchester, presented the findings of research on the recycling of contact lenses. She explained that she had become interested in this topic after reading a United Nations report that said 20% of contact lenses ended up in the ocean as waste.
The research at Manchester focused on contact lens use and disposal, rather than on the whole life-cycle of the product. It found that there was a discrepancy in the material waste generated by patients who wore daily disposable lenses and monthly lenses. In the trial, each daily CL wearer generated 1,062g of waste over a year compared to 835g for monthly wearers. Waste from UK households per year, per person, was at 400kg on average, meaning that daily disposable CL waste accounts for only 0.26% of average waste.
However, Smith’s research also found that, in Greater Manchester, all the waste generated by daily lenses could be recycled through engagement with recycling schemes. The waste generated by monthly lens wearers was mostly recyclable, but bottle tops and some other minor elements of the packaging could not be recycled in the studied area.
Smith’s research did not analyse the manufacturing, materials, packaging or distribution of CLs, however, and she warned practitioners to consider these as part of a holistic assessment of the sustainability of different CL options.
Economic advantages
Millmead Optical Group CEO, James Conway, then gave an explanation of how Millmead had taken steps to become more sustainable in recent years.
He told attendees that it was vital they keep an open mind to change, and added: ‘Sustainability efforts have no deadline or destination, they are a continuous journey. We started off with some small changes to the everyday running of the business before making major investments into technology to develop sustainable projects.’
Conway explained that there were economic advantages to sustainability and provided the example of energy efficient LED lighting. He said that installing new lighting had come with a cost, but that over a number of years its increased energy efficiency had saved the company money on energy bills.
‘We also consolidated all frame, lens and case deliveries to reduce the number of deliveries,’ said Conway. ‘This has saved us money on shipping and makes it easier for our customers.’
More to come
The See Summit finished with a panel discussion where attendees were able to ask a selection of environmentally engaged optical professionals questions about how they could improve. The panel was hosted by ABDO head of communications, Antonia Chitty, and was joined by optometrist and practice owner Simon Berry, OSA sustainability committee chair Jayne Abel, and Ruth Shelton, an advisor for Natural England and a DO with 26 years of experience.
The event ended with a promise of future events on the topic and a message that attendees could consider the See Summit the start of their journey towards sustainability. ‘We don’t know all the answers yet, but we’re in the right company as we make the journey together,’ said Daryl Newsome, ABDO vice president.
How sustainable are you?
A new sustainability focused self-assessment tool was launched at the SEE Summit by ABDO vice president, Jo Holmes. The tool was developed by ABDO’s working group on the environment in collaboration with organisations across the sector and allowed practices to assess their business’s sustainable characteristics before it suggested key activities that could make working life, the practice and business more sustainable.
The tool began with a questionnaire and was followed by weekly emails that outline changes that practices could make. There was a focus on recycling, saving energy, travel and how to reuse, repair and recycle.
ABDO explained that all of the tool’s advice was centred around the optical industry and would recommend specific methods that could be used in practice.
The tool has been made available at abdo.org.uk/sustainability-questionnaire.